The story of the O'Briens of Bandon and their descendants 1875-2013

Hyland, Áine

The story of the O'Briens of Bandon and their descendants 1875-2013

Files

O'Briens of Bandon book - final proof 19 July 2013.pdf(2.03 MB)

Published Version

Date

2013

Authors

Hyland, Áine

Publisher

Áine Hyland

Abstract

This is the story of the family of John and Sarah O’Brien of Bandon, Co. Cork, Ireland. Sarah O’Brien was born in Desertserges near Ballineen, west of Bandon, on 20th May 1875. Her father was James Coffey, a farmer and master shoemaker, and her mother was Lucy (née Regan), a farmer’s daughter from Desertserges. Sarah was the fifth of fourteen children. She married John O’Brien on 3rd June 1893 when she was 18 years of age. John O’Brien was born in Bandon on 3rd September 1858 and was a son of Patrick and Elizabeth (née Canty). He was a stonemason and was 37 years of age when he married Sarah. John O’Brien died around 1915 when his youngest child, Peggy was only a year old, and his widow Sarah outlived him by almost 50 years. She died in Dublin on 11th October 1963. After their marriage, John and Sarah O’Brien lived on St. Patrick’s Hill, Bandon, near St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. (St. Patrick’s Hill was called Staunton’s Lane in the 1901 and 1911 Censuses of Population). They had eleven children, one of whom (Lily May) died young. The remaining ten married and had children. In all, Sarah O’Brien had more than 60 grandchildren. They in turn had more than 120 children, and the third generation of descendants already number more than 100. The year of the publication of this book, 2013, is the 50th anniversary of the death of Sarah O’Brien and at least 200 of her direct descendants are currently alive. This book is a celebration of the remarkable courage and determination of a widow who reared and educated her young family in very difficult circumstances. There were no widow’s pensions or social welfare payments in Ireland at the time of her husband’s death – yet in spite of this, Sarah O’Brien ensured that each of her children grew up to earn a living and to do well in life. She was passionately committed to Irish independence and was actively involved in the War of Independence between 1918 and 1921, supporting Michael Collins and his followers. She was on the pro-Treaty side in the Civil War and was devastated by the assassination of Michael Collins in Béal na Bláth in 1922. For her work for Irish independence, she was awarded a service medal and a small pension by the Free State government, which she proudly held for the rest of her life.

Keywords

John and Sarah O’Brien , Bandon, Co. Cork , Civil War , Irish independence

Citation

Hyland, Á. (2013) The story of the O'Briens of Bandon and their descendants 1875-2013. Dalkey, Co. Dublin: Áine Hyland.